House members wrapping up

His successor doesn't take over until Thursday, but Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas, has already closed his offices in San Dimas.

His district office on Foothill Boulevard in San Dimas closed Dec. 19, according to a hand-written note on the door. And his office in Washington, D.C., closed Dec. 21, according to a phone message.

Dreier's district has included parts of western San Bernardino County and eastern Los Angeles County since 1981, but he opted not to run after his former 26th Congressional District was scrapped during redistricting.

Another retiring congressman, Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, has also closed his offices in Redlands and Washington.

One of Baca's staff members, who declined to give his name, said the San Bernardino office was open and fielding calls on Wednesday and Thursday.

The office, he said, officially closed Friday. He said he was not sure if Baca's Washington office would remain open through Monday to field calls from constituents should they call.

Both Lewis and Baca remain in Washington in case of a vote on the pending financial crisis.

The office closures are drawing attacks from The Action in California, a group campaigning in support of President Barack Obama's tax plan.

"It's really unfortunate they're doing this, because we are really at a critical time right now," said Nicole Derse of The Action in California.

Whether representatives close operations early, those who don't win another term or choose not to run must make way for their replacements.

About 200 offices have been prepared for incoming Congress members since the election, according to Capitol Hill officials, and soon-to-be former members are required to vacate their spaces by late November or early December.

Derse said members of Congress should be accessible to constituents while lawmakers try to hammer out a compromise on the "fiscal cliff" budgetary scenario that calls for automatic spending cuts on Tuesday if the two political parties don't reach a budget compromise.

The district office of Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, was closed Friday and a receptionist there said she was waiting for the phone company to shut down the phone lines.

The phone lines for the offices of Rep. Lynn Woolsey of the Santa Rosa area were disconnected.

Berman, Woolsey, Lungren and Gallegly all lost their election campaigns last month.

And Mike Spence, a prominent San Gabriel Valley Republican operative, wondered if constituents actually cared enough to call their members of Congress.

"If there were real constituents calling and wanting to talk about the fiscal cliff instead of worrying about Christmas and working to pay off their bills, I guess that would make this an issue," he said.

Frustrated by the stalemate of negotiations over the fiscal cliff, Los Angeles activist Barbara Broide launched a petition Friday asking legislators to "Occupy Congress" until a deal is reached. The petition, available at Signon.org, is directed at all politicians, including outgoing ones.

"We call on our Senators and Representatives to Occupy Congress 24/7 until a budget agreement has been reached and your job has been done," the petition reads.